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Aeiv business do surprisingly vell in competitive Chapel Hill market
By USA CARL
The crunch begins as the spring semester ends. Signs ap
pear on area cash registers: "Sorry, no checks." Merchants
post those end-of-the-season notices with regret, anticipating
a long summer of empty dorms, empty sidewalks, empty,
stores and their empty pockets. "
It is not unusual for students to return in the fall to find
several businesses closed down, unable to maintain them
selves without student patronage. The businesses that fail
are usually those already operating on the edge of solvency.
Many are new businesses that hadn't yet built up enough
capital to carry them through the summer doldrums.
This year, George's International Cuisine, Hobbifs
Hoagies, Jasper's, and Roy Rogers were among the casual
ties. But, new businesses are already stepping in. Hunan
Chinese Resturant will occupy the old George's location,
and Biscuit Town, an all-night restaurant will open in mid
August in the Roy Rogers' building. s
July is generally the worst month for area merchants.
Retail sales figures in Chapel Hill for 1980 dropped from
more than $15,000 in June to $14,500 in July.
Sales for 1980 climbed to almost $18,000 in both August
and September, when the regular session students returned.
Carrboro fared a little better last summer, because the
smaller town has a higher percentage of permanent resi
dents than Chapel Hill. Carrboro's retail sales dropped from
$3,000 in June to $2,500 in July of last year.
This year, sales are not improving. "It's my feeling that
business has been down this summer," said John Gastineau,
president of the Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chapter of
Commerce.
To alleviate uneven business, the Chamber initiated Hot
Diggity Days, a July sales promotion, almost 25 years ago.
"Hot Diggity Day was an outstanding success this year,"
Gastineau said. "A lot of the stores were filled, and the mer
chants were really pleased." .
Gastineau said inflation, high interest rates, and a limited
amount of, investment capital had discouraged prospective
merchants from starting businesses in any area. Chapel Hill
itself poses special problems for new businesses, he said.
"We've gotten a lot of bad press about the town govern-,
ment being hard to work with."
For this reason, some prospective merchants hesitate to
open businesses here. v -
A new building proposal must gain approval from the Car
rboro Board of Aldermen and the Chapel Hill Town Council.
But Chapel Hill planner Liz Rooks said she did not think
.businesses were unecessariiy inconvenienced by prevailing
ordinances.
Most new construction have at least a courtesy review by
the planning boards, but most businesses take very little
time to be approved, she said.
But because some businesses are located in specially zon
ed districts, the red tape may increase. For instance, a new
Burger King will open in December next to Sadlack's. The
restaurant had to obtain an exterior Certificate of Appropri
ateness from the town, as it will be located within the town's
historic district - ; -
Other businesses have had to obtain special use permits
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Defunct Roy fleers, coon to to Circuit Town
"to establish a balance between business and surrounding
property owners," Rooks said,
A residential special use permit could take as long as
three months to be approved, she said.
Tim Kirkpatrick, owner of the Henderson Street Bar, open
ed his business in late May. "I had planned to open in the
middle of March, but the Presbyterian Church next door was
protesting my license," he said.
After the rough start, some businesses are able to main
tain a fairly healthy business over the summer. Mike Bul
lock, manager of the Varsity Theater on Franklin Street said,
"Over all, business is up (since the regular school year)
because we're only charging a dollar admission. That doesn't
necessarily reflect better movies or a better economy it's
mainly because of the cheap movies."
The Varsity started its dollar movies during exams last
May, so the new policy has not really been tested by the stu
dent population yet "We're expecting double the business
in the fall," Bullock said.
' Owen Gwyn, owner of the Pump House game room, has
done well this summer also, as his store attracts many junior
"high, and high school students on summer vacation. Gwyn
said the town should make an effort to encourage perma
nent residents to patronize downtown businesses.
Many town residents flock to the malls because parking
uptown is expensive. "It costs the price of a movie to park
uptown nowadays. So only students (who live nearby) go up
town, and businesses are forced to appeal to students," he
said.
Gwyn, like the other downtown merchants, said the town
government spent too much time on zoning ordinances and
not enough time on more "practical" laws.
"The amount of time that it takes to prepare the laws and
to follow their guide. . . ifs a real investment There's a fine
line between what they (the town council) recommend and
what they actually allow," he said.
"What we really need in this town is cheaper parking.
That would bring the residents in, and merchants wouldn't
have this summer slump."
Merchants prepare for worst as sales drop during summer doldrums
Dy LISA CARL
Details like high inflation, high interest
rates on loans, and Chapel Hill's uneven
market and strict zoning laws have not dis
couraged at least four young businessmen
from starting new businesses in town.
Tim Kirkpatrick, owner of the Henderson
Street Bar and former owner of Kirkpa trick's
on Rosemary Street said, "You can't go wrong
buying real estate in this town."
He said this despite the fact that his bar
was delayed from opening for months be
cause the Presbyterian Church next door
protested his license.
. Kirkpatrick stood behind his bar wearing a
brightly colored designer sport shirt and
casual pants. His clothes and relaxed manner
blended with the easy college-town atmos
phere of the place.
The Henderson Street Bar serves only
beer and munchies. Kirkpatrick said he did
not think serving only beer would decrease
business. "Seventy-five to 80 percent of the
students here are under 21 and couldn't buy
mixed drinks anyway," he said.
Kirkpatrick has remodeled the former
Record Bar with dark wood, several tables
and a long bar. One wall of the new bar is
lined with pinball and electronic games.
Business was better than he had expected.
He has often arrived to set up at 10 a.m. to
find patrons already waiting to come in,
drink a beer and play some games.
He expects continued success in August
"I hate to think about it I'll have to work too
hard," he said.
Kirkpatrick sold Kirkpa trick's bar two years
aso. His years of experience have not dimin
ished his enthusiasm for business in the area.
He emphasized the great increase in the
number of bars in Chapel Hill in the last few
years. In 1974, when he opened Kirkpatrick's,
"there were only five bars on the top of the
hill'
Now the number of bars is difficult to
count because most restaurants have added
bars since the 1978 passage of liquor-by-the-drink.
The 19C0 Franklin Street Gourmet lists
nine "beer only" places, not including the
Henderson Street Bar. Tim Kirkpatrick's se
cret for a successful business in Chapel Hill:
hard, steady work. Once businesses get un
derway, "too many (managers) get fat and
say, ' I don't have to work now'" he said. Most
businesses fail because of bad management
and high rent he said.
Just below the Henderson Street Bar is a
closet-sized basement store aptly named
The Designer's Closet Stacks and racks of
designer label clothing fill the store.
"We're going to try to carry first quality
merchandise at a discount" said Bill Ripley,
the store's co-owner and manager. The store
will cater to the student population, offering
"clothing college students want and that
they're buying anyway," he said.
Ripley and George Lee, former owners of
Rip-Lee's in Durham, hope to move their
store upstairs over the bar within a week or
so.
While talking, Ripley arranged a bright
array of shirts in colors from brilliant cerise
to pale lavendar, each with the familiar polo
player on the left breast
"We have a real low overhead here, so we
" can pass the savings on to the customer," he
said
Ripley and Lee have had a few opening
problems, including leaky plumbing from
the bar upstairs. "That's why I'm moving
these shirts around today," Ripley explained.
The Designer's Closet has also suffered
from the summer business doldrums. "Traf
fic's been really slow, especially in July,"
Ripley said, "but we're looking for a good
August"
Low visibility has also been a problem.
Ripley said he hoped the alley leading to the
store would be paved when the new Burger
King is built next door.
Both Ripley and Lee attended UNC. Ripley
graduated in 1976 with a degree in chemistry
and psychology, but has no plans to go on to
medical school. "If anything, I'll get my
M.BA"
Lee obtained a degree in business. He also
plans to stay tnbusiness rather than continue
academic studies.
At the other end of the main business dis
trict on Franklin Street the Pump House
game room is already drawing crowds.
A blast of cool air and several curious elec
tronic buzzes, beeps and blips greet Pump
House customers. Hardwood floors and a
light wood "bar" balance the high tech aura
of the electronic game machines that line
the walls.
"Bartender" David Leventhal serves quar
ters and bottled mineral water (fifty cents a
shot) to hungry machines and thirsty custo
mers. A largo red metal Mobil Oil Pegasus
spreads its wings behind him.
"The kids spend the most" ha said. "I had
one kid come in here the other day with a
twenty dollar bill. I gave him two rolls of
quarters," and be spent two and a half hours
in here."
The Pump House opened during final
exams in May. and so has yet to feel the im
pact of the regular student population. But
business has already profited from the sum
mer basketball and soccer camps which
cater to several hundred pre-college-age kids
each summer. The Pump House has cotton
considerable business from electronic game
lovers across the street in Granville Towers.
But Pump House business is by no means
restrictd to kids. Manager Kevin Cohan said
the client age range is "forty and under."
"We get a lot of high school and junior
high schoolers, but we expect it to be mainly
college business (in the fall)."
Owner Owen Gwyn said, "We're not trying
to appeal exclusively to students, in the sense
that we don't serve beer."
Cohan said for this reason, "we will get
more of the people who are more into the
sport ... the people who refer to themselves
as addicts."
Gwyn admitted apprehension about open
ing a business in Chapel Hill, especially dur
ing the summer. "Anytime you open in a col
lege town, you're looking at a seasonal busi
ness. But as far as opening a business in
Chapel Hill, I'm excited."
Opening a business during the off-season
gives managers a chance to work out some
of the bugs. "We can get our employees
trained and get them (working) at a steady
pace," Gwyn said.
Gwyn relies on both the clean-cut atmos
phere of the Pump House and its central lo
cation to draw customers. "In order for us to
survive, we ought to have the nicest place,
the cleanest place. We offer air conditioning
and a clean place to play."
Cwyn's vision has had some competition
in town. Two other electronic game rooms
vie for the Pump House's business further
down Franklin Street
"I think Chapel Hl is a good place for
us," Gwyn said "All I can hope is that we
won't have another (game room) opening up
next door."
ihursday, July iJ. 11,411 he Tar lied5